United States Patent 191 uy 3,963,207 Guasti (451 June 15, 1976 [54] ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT LEG Primary Examiner—Roy D. Frazier {76} Inventor: Peter C. Guasti 48 Crescent Ave,, stant Examiner--Darred Margate Cinise Paw Bch O7Oo ‘Attorney, Agent, or Firm —Philip Furgang (221, Filed 16, 1974 = 137] ABSTRACT (21) Appl. No. $06,041 AA tripod leg is provided which distributes a portion of forces produced by the supported object. These (32) us. 248/168; 248/188.5 —_ojes ae drectd sbstantly away from the means 51] Int. C1 «ssn FIOM 1/38 used to releasably hold the relatively movable mem- [38] Feld of Search 248/161, 411, 413, 1885, ers, Thus, a pair of parallel rods of a leg are sepa. 248/168, 172,173 rated by a first and second spacer. A third rod is at s tached fo one spacer and extends between two parallel (56) econ et rods. A lower hollow member of the leg is inserted UNITED STATES PATENTS Through a hole inthe lowermost spacer and engages 186.761 641932. Neuwirth 24gi1s8s the third tod. Secured to the lower rod isa collar hav- 2442.00 5/1988 Furnas 245/1883 ing a screw means for engaging and releasably holding 25195849 9/1980 Covtan et a 248/188.3 the third rod 2668682 2/1954 Dalton asses 9 Claims, 8 Drawing FiguresU.S. Patent June 15,1976 Sheet 10f2 3,963,207 108: FiG2. f=U.S. Patent tune 15,1976 Sheet20f2 3,963,2073,963,207 1 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT LEG BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ‘This invention relates to an adjustable support leg and, more particulary, to legs used in connection with tripods and similar devices. Itis understood that tripods are generally employed to support cameras, optical instruments, antenna, and the like. ‘Numerous suggested constructions for support legs for tripods and the like have been suggested over the ‘years. The major desired attributes of such devices are Stability and ease of adjustment, One suggested device hhas been provided by Grimal in US. Pat. No. 2,940,708, Grimal proposes tripod legs made of ehan- nieled or transversely arcuate members, with each leg comprising two telescoping members. The lower mem- ber of each leg is intended to be movable with respect, to the upper member so as to adjust the relative height of the tripod. A clamping means is provided at the lower end of the upper member. This clamping means is used to engage and releasably join the two members, together to thereby form each tripod leg. Still another suggested device i set forth by Witte in US. Pat. No. 2,019,753. Wittel suggests tripod legs having two telescoping members. The lower member engages, within the upper member, an expansible nut. The lower member portion is adjusted by relieving the hut, moving the lower member with respect to the upper member, and expanding the nut by rotating the lower member threaded therein. Still another device of this nature is suggested by Dalton in US. Pat. No. 2,668,682. The device sug- gested by Dalton comprises tripos legs in which the Upper member of each leg is an inverted Acframe with the lower member inserted through a bore recess at the apex of the A. The assembly is secured by a narrowing oF tightening of the diameter of the bore by means of a hand knob. Additional support is provided by a spider secured to the center of the tripod seat and at the apex of each A-frame leg Stil another device of this type, intended to over- ‘come the problems of support and stability, is revealed by Mercier, Son in US. Pat, No. 765,980. This device hhas an upper member ofa tripod which has a substan- tially rectangular shape and has a transverse slot. A lower rectangular member is secured to the rear of the upper member by means of a threaded screw, a wing nut, and a washer. The wing nut is tightened against the ‘washer which pulls the two members against one an- other. ‘The prior art devices have a number of obvious dis- advantages. First, in most of the devices itis apparent ‘that the entire weight of the supported object is di- rected against the means for joining the upper and lower members. If a heavy object such as a motion picture or television camera was supported on the tr- pod over a long period of time, the constant weight ‘upon the means for joining might cause the joined members to move with respect to one another. Thus, for example, the device by Dalton focuses the weight of the object supported by the tripod at the bore or apex ‘of the A-frame. The devices of Wittel, Grimal, and Mercier, Son similarly provide that the weight of the ‘object be bome at the point of joining the two mem- bers. It should also be noted that the devices of the type suggested by Wittel, Dalton, and Grimal must be ad- 20 25 20 3s 0 45 50 ss 60 6s 2 {usted at the base or footing which is certainly inconve- nient. Furthermore, the Wittel device must be adjusted by lifting the entire tripod and rotating the lower mem- ber with respect to the upper member. ‘An additional inconvenience is provided by the de- vice suggested by Mercier, Son. Loosening the wing nut would cause the two members to pivot at the screw, further disorienting the entire tripod. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, itis an object of this inven- tion to provide a leg support for use in connection with such devices as tripods, Tis another object of this invention to provide a leg support that distributes the weight of the object sup- ported so that only a portion of the weight bears against the means for joining the relatively movable members of the leg. Itis till another object ofthis invention to provide an adjustable height leg for use in connection with such devices as tripods, in which the adjustment is made at the uppermost part of the lower supporting member. Its still a further object of this invention to provide «leg support for tripods which is economical in manu facture and simple in use Tn fulfilment of these objectives, and others as may ‘become more apparent with reference to the drawing, specification, and claims herein, itis intended to pro vide a support leg suitable for use in connection with such devices as tripods. Itis generally known that tri- pods have a seat or other device for holding cameras or the like. The tripod may have bosses or similar means for pivotally joining the legs. Each support leg com- prises a pair of spaced rod-like members being pivotally securable to the tripod bosses. At least two means for spacing the rods are provided. The first spacing means is secured to the pair of rods substantially at the ends thereof. The fist spacer has an aperture, The second spacing means are secured and space apart the rod-like ‘members intermediate the frst spacer and the pivotally securable ends of the rods. A third rod-like member is disposed between the pair of rodlike members and secured to the second spacer means and disposed be- ‘ween the first and second spacer means. A fourth rod-like member is insertable through the aperture and ‘between the first and second spacer means and the pair of rod-like members. Engaging means are provided for releasably securing the fourth rod and third rod. The fourth rod extends without the first spacer to serve as ‘an adjustable support for the tripod, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tripod constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention; FIG. 1a. isa partial sectional perspective view of the tripods of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 isa partial front view of a leg support of FIG. 1 taken along line 2—25 FIG. 2a. is a partial sectional view of the tripod of Fic, 25 FIG, 3 isa partial sectional view of the leg of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3—3; FIG. 4 is partial sectional view of the leg of FIG. 2 taken along lines 4—4; FIG. $ isa partial sectional view of the leg of FIG. 2 taken along lines S—S3 and FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the leg of FIG. 2 ooking in the direction of the view along lines 6~6.3,963,207 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Disclosed herein is a support leg for a tripod device or the like, Thus, with reference to the drawing, there is described a tripod 10 (FIG, 1) which embodies the invention and includes three leg assemblies, indicated generally by the reference character 12. The leg assem- blies 12 are pivotally secured at the upper ends 14 to a ‘common central body 16 and terminates at the lower fend in a foot 18. ‘The central body 16 may be one that is commonly known in the art and, as disclosed, may generally have adise-like shape for holding such apparatus asa televi sion camera, motion picture camera, or other equip- ment (not shown). Thus, the body 16 may be formed with upstanding flange 18 at the periphery thereof. Centrally disposed in the body 16 may be a hole 20 for accommodating the equipment. Thus, equipment may be rested upon the central body 16 and be oriented with respect to a key way 22, at a predetermined point in the flange 18 in order to be uniformly aligned and secured to the tripod, such equipment having an appro- priately positioned Key in the base thereof. ‘Turning now to more detailed discussion of the tri ppod 10, each leg assembly 12 comprises a pair of rod- like members 24. The pair of members 24 may take any convenient shape as, for example, tubular. The mem. bers 24 may be made of any structural material such as aluminum, magnesium, or the like. The upper ends 14 of the tubular members 24 may be surmounted by a hollow tubular cap 26, each having a flattened end 30. ‘An aperture (not visible) may extend transversely through the fattened end 30. This cap aperture is in- tended to receive a pivot rod 32 (shown in phantom in FIG. 2), ‘The pivot rod 32 is disposed within bosses 34 of the central body 16. These bosses 34 are placed at appro- priate positions at the periphery of the central body 16 50 as to accommodate three of the leg assemblies 12. The pivot rod 32 may extend coaxially within the cyl drical bosses 34 and without the ends thereof and through the apertures in the flattened end 30 of the caps 26, Each of the flattened ends are held against planar end surfaces 36 of the bosses 34 by any conve- rent means such as a washer 38, nut 40, and acorn nut 42. If desired, a washer 44 may be disposed between the flattened end 30 and the planar end surface 36 of the bosses 34 to provide a frictional engagement and provide some resistance to the pivotal movement of the leg assembly 12. ‘The cap 26, which may be made of any structural material such’as aluminum or magnesium as is the remainder of the legs 24, may be secured to the leg 24 as by any joining means such as a serew 46. Its clear 5 that the pivotal joining of the leg assembly 12 to the body 16 may be done by any convenient means such as, by rivets or the like, and the use of a rod 32 is merely preferred construction thereof. So, too, withthe join- ing of the cap 28 to the leg 26 may be done by welding, soldering, or formed as an integral part thereof. ‘A first Spacing means 48 may be connected to each of the members 26. As previously indicated, the mem- bers 26 are preferably hollow cylindrical rods. The spacer 48, which may be made of aluminum or other structural material, may have a body portion 49 com- prising a substantially diamond-like shape (FIG. 5). Centrally disposed in this first spacer 48 may be an 4 aperture $0 which may have, for example, a generally cVlindrical shape and extend through from one planar side 52 to the other planar side 54 of the first spacer 48, ‘This aperture 50 may be centrally disposed. 5 The opposed ends 56 and $8 of the diamond-shaped body portion 49 may be cut off or frusto-shaped and hhave therewithin a concavity for accommodating a part ‘of the cylindrical surface of the tubular members 26. ‘Arcuate members 60 may be joined to complete the 10 first spacer 48 and enclose the tubes 26. A joining ‘means stich as a self taping serew 62, may pass through each arcuate member 60, the rods 26, and into the ‘adjacent end 56 or 88 of the body part 49 to secure the rods 26 to the spacer 48. ‘Spaced intermediate the central body 16 and the first spacer 48 may be a second spacer 64. The spacer (FIG. 3) may take any convenient shape and is preferably generally rectangular shaped body portion 65 with a Centrally disposed aperture 66 extending from one planar surface 68 through to the other planar surface 170. The opposed ends 72 and 74 of the body part 65 of, the second spacer 64 may have therein concavities to accommodate a portion of the cylindrical surface of the tubes 26, The remainder of the tubes may be enclosed by arcuate members 78. The entire structure may be fastened together by any joining means such as a screw ‘80, passing transversely through the arcuate member 78, the tube 26, and into the body part 65 ofthe second spacer 64. ‘The tubes 26 are preferably parallel one another and held rigidly with respect to one another by the first and second spacer 48 and 64, respectively. A thitd rod-like member 82 may have any desirable shape. Preferably, ‘this third rod 82 may have a generally square crosssec- tion. This square rod 82 may have extending from one tend 83 a smaller cylindsical stem 84, The stem 84 may bbe formed as an integral part of the rod-like member 82 which in turn may be made of any structural material such as aluminum, magnesium, or the like. The ster 84 is insertable within the aperture 66 of the second spacer 64. The square rod 82 may be so disposed as to extend parallel the tubular pair of rods 26 and between the first and second spacers 48 and 64, respectively ‘The stem 84 may be secured within the aperture 68 of the second spacer 64 by means of a rivet 86 extending ‘ansversely through the stem 84 and second spacer 64. ‘The square rod 82 will extend but be preferably spaced from the first spacer 48. A sleeve 88 (FIGS. 1 and 8) having a laterally extending Mange 90, is within the aperture 50 of the first spacer 48, The flange 90 is supported by the upper surface 52 of the first spacer 448. A fourth rod-like member 92 which may, for exam- ple, have a cylindrical configuration, extends through the first spacer aperture 50 and sleeve 88. The fourth member 92 is preferably hollow and open at one end to engage the square rod 82, Secured at the top end of the fourth rod 92 may be means 94 for securing the fourth 10d 92 to the square rod 82. This means 94 may com- prise, for example, a knurled collar 96 which in tum hhas a downwardly extending neck 98. The collar 96 and. neck 98 have an aperture 100 (FIG. 4) for receiving the third rod 82. This aperture 100 may take any con: venient shape and preferably conform to the shape of the third rod 82. Thus, the aperture has a square cross- section for receiving therethrough the square rod 82. Extending transversely through the collar 96 may be a serew 102 secured to a knurled knob 104. The collar 96 may be appropriately threaded to accommodate the 0 30 35 40 45 50 Cy 6s3,963,207 5 serew 102, The knurled knob 104 may be secured to the serew 102 by means of welding or riveting (not shown). ‘The neck 98 of the collar 96 is insertable within the fourth rod 92 and secured by any means such as a 5 serew 106. “The foot 18 (FIG. 6) of the leg assembly 12 com prises an inverted cone 108 ass well known i the art, tnd secured by any joining means such as a screw 110 to the end ofthe eyindrcal fourth rod 92. \ In operation, twill be appreciated that the leg assem- bly 12 may be positioned at any angle with respect to the central body 16. The weight of the camera or other device supported by this central body 16 is distributed along the parallel rods 26. A substantial part of the ‘weight is believed to_be carted by the first spacer 48 agaist the fourth rod 92 atthe base of botiom of the assembly 12. The second spacer 64 carries & propor tionate part ofthe weight ofthe caried object which is thon distributed along the square rod 82 and fourth rod 2, “Thus, the major forces provided by the weight ofthe ‘object on the central body 16 is not carried at the means 94 for joining of the adjustable lower member 92 to the upper member 82. Ths is most significant in that because a substantial amount of the forces pro- duced by the weight of the equipment is distributed to the frst spacer 48, “The collar 96 provides a bearing surface against which the cylindrical rod 82 must move when itis being adjusted. For that reason, the collar 90 is preferably of 4 nylon or other material that would ease the relative ‘movement of the two members. The user would release the knurled knob 104 the serew 102 of which i enga ing the Square rod 82. The fourth rod 92 may then be moved up or down as desired along the square rod 82 to accommodate the proper position and then tight: ened. Thus, there i provided a more equal distribution ofthe weight and a more convenient method of adjust- ing the overall height of the tripod 10. Iwill be seen thatthe knurled knob 104 is atthe uppermost portion of the assembly 12. Thus, itis possible to adjust the Coverall position of the tripod 10 without having to reach down to the very base ofthe leg assembly 12 in order to provide such adjustment. This provides an auditional convenience as well as more equal distibu- tion of the weight amongst the various members. tis to be understood thatthe relative postion of the spacers 48 and 64 are for the preferred use. These spacers 48 and 64 may, however, be located in any ‘ther desited position along the rods 26. Thus, refer- fence herein to the first spacer 48 being located at one tend ofthe rods 26 is only by way of a general relative location and should not interpreted as being strictly at the very end of the rod 26. ‘What is claimed 1. A support leg ofthe type used as part ofa tipod, said tripod having a seat with leg engaging bosses ex” tending therefrom, said leg comprising ‘a pair of spaced, rodlike members being pivotally securable at one end to the tripod bosses; b frst spacer means secured to sai rod-like mem- bers substantially at the end opposed to said end 0 30 45 50 ss cy 6s being pivotally securable and having an aperture therethrough; . second spacer means secured to said rod-like ‘members intermediate said first spacer and said pivotal end; da third rodJike member secured to said second spacer and disposed between said first and second spacers and said pair of rod-like members, e. a fourth rod-like member slidable through said aperture and engaging said third rod-like member ‘between said first and second spacers and said pair of rod-like members, the end of said fourth rod-like member extending beyond said pair of rod-like members and said first and second spacers and comprising foot means for standing said leg against the ground; and engaging means located between said first and second spacer means for adjustably securing said third rod to said fourth rod, 2. A leg as recited in claim 1, wherein said engaging means comprises a clamp secured at the end of said fourth rod disposed between said first and second spac- crs, and being releasably tightenable against said third rod to prevent relative movement between said fourth rod and said third rod, thereby securing the leg. ‘3A leg as recited in claim 2, wherein said third rod and said pair of rods lie substantially in the same plane. 4. A leg as recited in claim 3, wherein said pair of rods are parallel to one another. '5. A leg as recited in claim 4, wherein said third rod ‘extends parallel to said pair of parallel rods, 6. A leg as recited in claim 5, wherein said fourth rod is hollow and receives therewithin said third rod. 7. A leg as recited in claim 6, wherein said engaging ‘means comprises a collar, said collar having an aper- ture therein for receiving therethrough said third rod, ‘and holding said third rod substantially in place with respect to said fourth rod. 8. A leg as recited in claim 7, wherein said collar has screw receiving aperture extending therethrough and ‘capable of communicating with said third rod, said ‘engaging means further comprises a screw for passing through said threaded aperture to engage and releas- ably hold said third and fourth rods together. 9. A leg as recited in claim 8, wherein said pair of rods are cylindrical; said third rod has a substantially rectangular cross- section; said first spacer being substantially diamond-shaped with one pair of opposed apices thereof bei cave for receiving said pair of rods and arcuate ‘members for substantially enclosing said cylindi- cal pair of rods, fastening means for securing said arcuate members, rods, and diamond-shaped por- tion together, said second spacer comprises a substantially rectan- gular member having opposed concave ends for receiving said pair of cylindrical rods and arcuate ‘members for enclosing said parallel rods, fastening, ‘means for securing sai arcuate members, said rods and said rectangular member together.